CHICAGO (CBS) – The police believe the same person is responsible for at least eight armed robberies relating to a machete in the vicinity of the Northwest.
The attacks occurred in Irving Park, Avondale and Logan Square.
CBS 2’s Charlie De Mar spoke privately with one woman, who said she thought she was going to die when she saw the size of the machete. She obeys the bandit’s request and is unscathed – but the randomness of the attacks is relative to those in the Northwest.
Maria Mayancena points to the spot on a sleepy Avondale property where she was robbed while walking alone Friday night.
“Maybe here, a very large machete,” she said.
Around 9pm, a car stopped, a man got out and pulled a large machete at her. She is still shaking.
“I don’t know,” Mayancena said.
Mayancena handed over her belongings. The man returned to the passenger seat of a car, and they drove away.
In Spanish, Mayancena said: “I thought he was going to kill me with a machete. I don’t want him to do anything to me. I let him take the money. I let him take the bag.”
The most recent attack occurred on Sunday night, when a 52-year-old man was walking alone near Troy and Grace Streets in Irving Park with a pizza when a machete slashed him. we fall. Police said the attacker also jumped out of a waiting car.
The man’s wallet and the pizza were stolen. CBS 2’s Tara Molina spoke to the victim’s girlfriend.
“He came with a machete,” the victim’s girlfriend said. He told him, he told him to give me the money”.
The time and place of the incident are as follows:
· 3000 blocks of North Christiana Avenue at 7:58 p.m. Friday, May 27, an attacker with a machete approached a 34-year-old man and demanded his property. The victim turned over and the attacker left in a gray sedan.
· 3200 block of North Monticello Avenue on Monday, May 30 at 11:45 p.m. A 19-year-old man was walking on the sidewalk when a man approached with a machete and demanded his property. The victim obeyed and the attacker left in a silver/gray sedan.
· 4100 blocks of West Fletcher Street between Monday, May 30 at 11:45 p.m. and Tuesday, May 31 at 12:10 a.m. A 47-year-old man was walking on the sidewalk when the attacker approached and claimed his property while brandishing a machete. The victim obeyed and the attacker fled in a silver/gray sedan.
· 3300 North Monticello Avenue block at 9 p.m. Friday, June 3 A woman was walking home when a man approached her, brandishing a machete as he demanded her property. The victim obeyed, but the attacker then pushed the victim and fled back to the passenger side of the vehicle he had arrived from.
· 4000 blocks of West Eddy Street on Friday, June 3, from 9 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. Two women, aged between 22 and 56, were approached by the attacker with a machete. He demanded their property and they obeyed. He ran away in a silver/gray sedan.
· 3000 blocks of Christina Avenue on Saturday, June 4 around 8:20 p.m. A 44-year-old woman was walking when a man approached from behind and drew her attention by speaking. The man ordered the victim to hand over the property and she complied.
· 4100 West Wellington Avenue on Saturday, June 4 just before 9 p.m. A 28-year-old woman was crossing the street with a 7-month-old baby boy when a silver sedan nearly hit her. The driver apologized and kept going. The woman and baby then entered the alley, at which point the silver sedan had backed up to enter the alley. The driver then swung a sharp object, demanded the victim’s property, then got in the car and drove away.
· 3700 North Troy neighborhood at around 9pm on Sunday, June 5 This is an incident where a 52-year-old man swung a machete at him while carrying a pizza.
Avondale resident Lisa Russell, who did not want to show her face, said she saw the man police were looking for.
“I saw him go to the front door and knock and no one answered it,” Russell said. “I used to walk to the grocery store, walk to the dollar store. Now I wouldn’t do that.”
As for Mayancena, she has this message for her attacker.
“Stop doing what you’re doing,” she said in Spanish. “We’re not harming anyone. We don’t want any more tragedies. We go out and feel scared.”
Police say they have devoted more resources to Northwest and are focusing on arrests. No serious injuries were reported in any of the robberies.
